A flame in the mirror
by Code - Riliane Lucifen
Summary: Kyoko Sakura planned to visit Mitakihara City to shake things up and set things right. Fate however wasn't kind to her and drove her to her wit's end. When presented with a second chance, she could only take it and hope for the better.
1. Chapter 1

It was early in the day and despite not catching much sleep, Kyoko felt pumped up.  
Today was going to be a big day.  
Almost as if to agree with her came the loud noise of thunder.  
It was still storming outside, it was near now, she could feel it.

So in a hurry Kyoko finished her breakfast.  
Quickly she ate up the last piece of toast and gulped down her glass of milk. She didn't know how much time she had.  
So she did a last check around the room she had been in staying, making sure she left no food behind.  
All seemed fine, the food she had planned on taking with her she had already packed up and the rest she had eaten.  
She was going to revisit Mitakihara city for the first time since her falling with Mami

Things had been left at a weird spot between her and Mami and out of what respect she still held for her, Kyoko had never intruded on Mami's territory  
It may have been better if she had just forgotten about the idiot but it wasn't that simple.  
Still, she didn't want to linger on it.  
There was no point in reliving the past in her mind.  
In the here and now the two of them just weren't going to get along.  
Especially not since the blonde had already gone ahead and replaced her.

Kyubey had told her about the two of them.  
The other girl was a novice who Mami had taken under her wing and they had hit it off great.  
Didn't that sound familiar? It did uncomfortably so. Just what was Mami thinking anyway?  
Wasn't it just going to end up in failure again? No one can keep up with Mami's idealised version of what a magical girl is supposed to be like.  
She would just end giving the girl all the wrong ideas and set her up to fall when reality turns out different from what she thought.

Today though, Kyoko was going to settle things.  
Kyoko was no longer going to stay away from that part of her past.  
Today was the day, the Walpurgisnacht was on it's way and if she waited any longer, well, she didn't know if she would ever get another chance.  
After all, if the blonde managed to screw that one up...

Breakfast done with, she just had do a few last things and she was ready to go.  
With the storm outside growing ever in intensity as the Walpurgisnacht slowly but surely drew nearer it really it was all going to come down to today.  
This witch really seemed something else from the rumours to the storm it seemed to bring with it.  
It would be up against two of strongest magical girls she knew though.  
Kyoko had sat ready, waiting for the witch to arrrive for much of the day before, but now she could feel it.  
The witch was nearing Miktakihara city.

Though most magical girls would be scared in her place, Kyoko actually felt somewhat excited that it finally was all going to go happen.  
She was going to go over to Mitakihara city, see Mami again and test herself against the witch of legend.  
She wasn't happy though with how Mami had decided on fighting the Walpurgisnacht.  
Kyubey had told the blonde was seriously planning to fight it all on her own and for what?  
The blonde was gambling with her life.

It was still a Walpurgisnacht, it wasn't something you should fight on your own.  
Only idiots would willingly face a Walpurgisnacht she had once been told.  
Of course, the weaklings who said such things couldn't compare to her or Mami, Kyoko felt sure of that but it was still reckless to fight it all on her own.

It was going to be alright though as long she was there too.  
She hadn't let Mami know that she was on the way, wanting to surprise her during the fight.  
Frankly, she didn't know exactly what she would even say to her beforehand, so she wanted to save words for afterwards.  
If things went right, she would stand a lot stronger in any confrontation with Mami after this.  
And as a bonus to her victory she was going to obtain the griefseed of this witch of legends as her thropy.

As Kyoko neared the city, she was thrown out of her thoughts and left mildly shocked.  
Coming to a stumbling halt, she looked over the city, or rather what was left of it.  
What the hell had happened? It was like a hurricane had hit it, twice.  
This Walpurgisnacht... It was unreal.  
It couldn't even been there for long and it had already turned more than half the damn city into a site of supernatural disaster.

Had she underestimated the rumours?  
Was this fate messing with her?  
She didn't know but one thing was certain.  
She was going to have to find Mami, fast.  
Running and jumping her way past rubble and broken buildings, through empty and destroyed streets, Kyoko passed wrecked cars, furniture and household items  
that lay about in chaotic fashion.  
She tried feeling out for Mami's magical energy signature but to no avail.

Throwing glances at the witch and confirming that it still looked occupied with someone or something was the only confirmation she got that Mami was still out there fighting.  
The huge amount of magical energy radiating from the witch was messing with her ability to sense magical signatures.  
However as she got closer to where the battle was taking place she couldn't see or feel any trace of Mami.

No, there something, a faint trace of magical energy that wasn't the witch or it's familiar and it even flared up just now.  
Good, that had to be Mami using a griefseed.  
Kyoko felt a little relieved at that.

Feeling the energy move again, Kyoko decided to quickly head over there.  
As she got close to the source Kyoko saw that it was indeed a magical girl.  
Surprise and dissapointment hit her at who it was though or at who it wasn't.

Pink hair and a frilly attire made it clear, it wasn't Mami.  
It was that new apprentice of hers.  
Was she seriously trying to fight against this monster of a witch?  
Nevermind that, where the hell was Mami then? Was she even still alive?

She wanted to ask the girl about it but she was busy fighting the witch.  
Constantly on the move, weaving and dodging her way through a whole barrage of attacks, the girl never seemed to catch more than a few brief moments of respite.  
If she distracted her even a little, she might cause the girl to get hit, possibly even killed with what the witch was throwing at her.

For now the rookie seemed to be holding up well on avoiding the attacks that came her way.  
She even found herself the occasional moment to strike back. The giant witch however, seemed largely unfazed.  
As if without a care, it just kept up this maniacal laughter that had already become grating to Kyoko's ears.  
The girl however, seemed unwilling to budge.  
Damn it. Couldn't she just take the hint and retreat for now?  
It looked like she was going to have to pull the girl out of there herself.

The girl, however, started conjuring up a huge arrow aimed towards the gigantic witch.  
One that she was pouring more and more energy into.  
What was she doing?  
She was going to waste all her energy with this one attack at this rate and harsh truth it may be, it just wasn't going to be enough.  
Still, when the girl released her attack, Kyoko couldn't help but track it with her eyes as it soared through the sky and crashed into the upside down witch,  
leaving behind a great flash of pink.  
The Witch staggered back and Kyoko had to admit it had packed more of a punch than she had expected.

Like she thought though, the girl was left in a bad spot.  
She was panting and slightly shaking.  
Her gaze was cast downward and it looked like she was only barely able to stay standing.  
With the way it was storming, Kyoko felt the the wind might even knock her over.

She could now only barely feel the magical aura, that before had burned brightly around the girl.  
The witch however held no mercy and launched another attack at the girl.  
The girl wasn't moving however, likely still exhausted.  
That idiot was really going to die, if she didn't help her there, and part of her felt that would serve the girl right.  
However her impulse to save the girl was greater.

Kyoko rushed towards the girl, hastily raising up a barrier in front of her.  
She jumped towards her with full momentun, crashing into her.  
At that moment everything seemed to happen all at once.  
Her barrier shattered, unable to stop the sphere of incoming doom that had already closed the distance.  
Within an instant the destructive magic was all around her, hurting her everywhere at once, she wanted to scream but couldn't find her voice.  
Before she even had the chance to think this was the end for her, the sheer force behind the attack slammed her away.

By the time Kyoko opened her eyes again, she was soaring through the air.  
She was hurting everywhere and didn't know what way she was going.  
The air had been knocked out of her and her skin felt like it was on fire.  
She zoomed pass a lantern, one that she only narrowly avoided more by luck than anything else, only to land onto hard concrete there after.  
She felt herself tumbling down the road, untill she hit a hard stop against something.  
A brief look revealed that her body had met with the side of a car.

Shit! She was in pain, couldn't find Mami and that girl, there was just no way she had survived the blast.  
Why was she even holding out hope for it?  
Still she had to get herself up and check.  
As she did, a sad sight greeted her.  
Amidst some rubble, a little further ahead, lay the lifeless body of a girl.  
Not that of the one she had just been trying to save, but that of the girl that she had been looking for.  
Mami, the last of her family, was dead.  
Damn it. Damn it!  
Anger, frustration and a tad of sadness started swirling together into a toxic cocktail within her.

The witch was meanwhile still laughing like it was all was some kind of twisted joke.  
Jumping up high, Kyoko summoned a huge magical spear and like the girl before she started channeling all her energy into it, using griefseeds to keep herself going.  
The witch, even at this sight kept up its laughter all the same, but slowly it started to distance itself from her.  
It was also sending more and more of its familiars towards her.  
No way was she gonna let it get away though.

"Shut up, you gigantic piece of shit. Just die!" With that, Kyoko took off and closed the distance between them, all the while summoning barriers  
to stop any familiars from getting in her way.  
When she reached the witch, she slammed her magic infused spear into it and it didn't take of long for it break through its defenses.  
As the giant witch started crumbling apart, Kyoko returned to the ground.

There was a bright flash of light and a few moments later the witch and it's familiars dissapeared completely.  
"Mami, it's okay. I did it."  
She had slayed the Walpurgisnacht.  
She had avenged her, but Mami wasn't coming back.

Taking a look at the giant griefseed that the Witch had dropped, she smiled faintly.  
At least she had her trophy now.  
Deciding to save it for it now, she used the last regular griefseed she had with her to absorb the taint of her darkened soul gem.  
After that, she simply sat there for a while.

Her thoughts sunk away. She was bruised and bathered and almost felt beaten even though she had won.  
As she sorted out her feelings, the appearance of another girl gave her pause.  
Wasn't that? It was? who was it even?  
An uniform similar to Mami's showed she was from the same school.  
She had long black hair, worn in two long braids and looked as fragile as the red glasses that adorned her face.

The girl was making her way over to where the pink haired one lay.  
As expected that girl hadn't made it.  
It seemed the other girl was quite distraught by this.  
They were companions in suffering, she and this girl.  
Kyoko was a lot more used to it though.  
Slowly she started approaching the girl, unsure of her intentions but intrigued by this girl.

It was then a small white creature showed its face and started talking to the girl.  
Kyubey. What business did he have with her?  
Listening in on their conversation, it soon became clear he was offering her a wish in exchange for becoming another magical girl.  
What the hell was he thinking?  
There was no way that weak looking girl was fit to become one.

Kyoko jumped in between the two of them, grabbing their attention.  
The girl skid back, before looking at her.

"Wha... who are you?"

She was surely surprised, probably a little scared even.  
Most of all, she looked sad though.  
Was this girl actually thinking of making a wish in spite of what had happened to the other girl and Mami?

"Listen, uhm. I'm Kyoko and as you can see, I am also a magical girl.  
And I don't know what you are thinking, but making a wish won't bring you any good."

She had to get this through to the girl. The girl spoke didn't look at her and spoke in a small voice,

"Madoka... I can't... not without her."

Madoka, Mami's apprentice, the one she had failed to save. Shit. The girl looked so broken up over it, it wasn't fair.

She could feel the girl's grief, but would a wish to bring back her friend really turn out well?  
The tale of a magical girl usually didn't end well.  
She had made her wish for her father and her family, and where had that left her?  
A wish looking good from the outset didn't mean anything.  
But how could she make her get that?  
Tears were steadily dripping down the girl's downcast face.

"Hey? Ah... damn it. You know, being a magical girl got your friend killed.  
Even if you wished her back, there is no guarantee anything good would come out of it."

The girl just kept crying.  
Damn it, could nothing going to go well on this day?  
Should she even be bother with this girl?  
Before she could decide on anything further to say, Kyubey started talking again, seemingly all too happy to continue onwards as if Mami and that other magical girl hadn't just died there.

"It is certainly true that there are no guarantees, but should that stop her from taking chances?  
I am sure, Homura's aware of how dangerous it can be.  
But do you really want her one true wish to be denied?  
Nothing else could ever get her her friend back but with a wish everything is possible."

"You! Do you even care at all? Mami just died and you are already recruiting the next girl."  
The blonde had always acted kindly towards him, treated him like a friend even. Yet, the bastard didn't seem upset about her death.

"It is a shame to lose a magical girl like Mami, but she willingly sacrificed herself in order to save the city.  
It's outside my purview to interfere with that."

"So you just let her die?" How could he?  
But no, she hadn't been there on time either.  
Damn it. Why hadn't she?

"And here I thought you had stopped caring about Mami."

"That, that's not true." Mami was the only one left that she did care about, even if things had changed between them, even if they wouldn't have gotten along.  
She didn't want her dead.

"Mami meant a lot to me. She was always kind... she was my closest friend."

The black haired girl gazed at her, "You were close with Mami?" the girl asked her.

"I am... I was... Mami, she was like family to me. Damn it."  
She never got to tell her. She really was an idiot. After all that time, she still really missed her family.

"Ah... well..." The other girl started quietely, "I was thinking, we could go back and protect them?"

"Huh... what? What is there to protect? They are dead." What was this girl talking about?  
Before she had time to ponder about it, the girl responded, "My wish. I want to go back in time and protect Ma... them."

"Tch... what? Go back in time? Is that even possible?" That... meant a chance to meet Mami before she would die here.  
They really could save them.

"I can grant any wish, even the most impossible." Kyubey interjected.

"What? If that's so..." Kyoko felt conflicted. She didn't want this girl to become a magical girl.  
But she was also temped to go along with it and be able to meet Mami once again, before all of this would happen.  
She had lost pretty much everything in life and though she wasn't one to give up, this messed up day had her feeling like a mess and it made this wish sound good.  
"I am in but only if you are one hunderd percent sure you want to do this. Also I will teach ya the ins and out of being a magical girl, okay?  
No getting weird ideas from Mami about what this magical girl business is really about, you hear? Instead remember this day."

"Ah... uhm..." The girl seemed unsure on how to respond. After a little while she asked "Will you really help me save Madoka?"  
Where she was avoiding her gaze before, the girl was now almost staring at her, as if she was trying to read her.  
As for the question, well, Kyoko felt she kinda had to at this point, she would owe her atleast that much.

"I will. Though you ought to know this wish is yours and yours alone. If anything you should use it for yourself.  
But if you are sure that you want to follow trough with this, then I will help you out."  
Was it really alright though? She didn't like that the girl was using her wish for the sake others, even if it included herself.  
On the other hand this was likely her one and only chance to ever see Mami back alive and the girl already seemed to have made up her mind about making a wish.

"That's fine, right?" Kyoko asked almost more to herself than towards the other girl.

The girl looked at her a little confused, "Uhm, you don't sound too happy about it."

"It's just... I was thinking how it is a waste to use your wish for the sake of others."

"A waste? There is no way a wish for Madoka would be wasted!"  
The girl somewhat shouted as more tears trickled down her face. She was clearly still upset by the loss of her friend.

"Ah, it's not something I can explain right now. Anyway, make your wish and I will do my best to help ya. Just don't cry if things happen to go wrong."

Kyoko still felt thorn but now the chance lay there right in front of here, she found it hard to let go, and she found a small part of her was actually hoping that it wouldl all work out.

"You are kinda making me doubt you..."

"Listen, I only saying that because I know it can all go wrong, believe me.  
Wishes can backfire hard.  
Ya might end up left with nothing but your magic and yourself.  
So I am just saying, don't do it unless you are willing to take that risk."

"I... I definitely still want to make my wish.  
What uhm... What was your name again?"

"Kyoko. I'm Kyoko Sakura."

"I see. I'm Homura Akemi."

"Alright, then Homura, let's do this together." Finally, a small sense of hope well up inside her again.  
Her mind was telling it was foolish but a tiny part of her heart that wanted to believe and hope for a happy outcome wouldn't quiet down.

"Yes..." The girl answered, still a little timid before turning to the white rat. "Kyubey?"

"Well then, have you decided on your wish, Homura Akemi? One that you are willing to put your soul at stake for?"

"I have. I wish for me... and... Kyoko to be sent back to the past. I want do over my meeting with Madoka and this time protect her, ... and Mami."


	2. Chapter 2

Kyoko felt a little dizzy as she woke up. Huh?  
Something was off but she couldn't quite place what it was.  
A look at the room she was in revealed it was the same place that she had been staying in for weeks.  
Wait... that wasn't right. She had travelled to Mitakihara city.  
The walpurgisnacht! Mami had died, she had felt terrible and... and she had been brought back into the past by the wish of some black haired girl?  
That definitely happened yet another part of her said none of it did and yesterday had just been an average day.

Was she losing her mind or were these the after effects of time travel?  
That really wasn't just a vivid dream or nightmare, was it?  
Time travel, was it possible even with a wish?  
She didn't know, but she couldn't discount it either.  
She felt sure it happened too but at the same time it contradicted the other half of what she could remember.

Was this what it was like to be going crazy? She certainly hoped it wasn't.  
She was almost tempted to check if there was a Witch messing with her.  
After thinking about it for a while she decided it would best to just go out and confirm wether it was real or not.  
So once again or perhaps for the first time since she left Mami, she was going pay Mitakihara city a visit.

Kyoko had no clue where this was going to lead her but she wasn't going to let a little bit of risk stop her.  
If anything a bit of shake up was welcome and might prove itself interesting.  
Besides, assuming she wasn't losing her mind, she did make that black haired girl a hefty promise.  
Homura. As she recalled her name Kyoko briefly felt a faint sense of familiarity with it, but it was gone as swiftly as it came.

After slowly going trough her morning routine, Kyoko started getting ready to leave.  
She had first made sure to not leave any food behind...  
Like she had done the day before? In one of the two pasts she had.  
The double memories were annoying to say the least.

Soon though Kyoko was on her way to Mitakihara.  
This time there was no storm, no destruction, no witch and no chaos.  
This time Mami was going to still be alive.  
She felt herself smiling a little.

This time she was going to set things right.  
How she didn't know yet.  
Playing it cautiously seemed best for now.  
If she met Mami now, she didn't know what she would do or how the blonde would react.  
Would they reconcile, would they argue, would they fight, all of those?

It was better to first figure out the situation.  
As for Mami, she would cross that bridge later.  
After a while, she arrived near the school that Mami went to.  
If she was correct she would be able to find all of them there.  
If she could find Pink and Homura there then that would confirm things.

Not wanting Mami or anyone really to spot her, Kyoko kept a low profile.  
She had perched herself upon the roof of a nearby building and kept her eye out for any of them.  
As she did she spotted countless middleschoolers walk by, all seemingly caught up in their own steady lives.

She couldn't help but feel slighty annoyed.  
Those runts didn't even know how lucky they were.  
Heck, most of them were probably clueless of all the things they had to be gratefull for and none of them had a clue of the dangers Mami was protecting them from.  
Both blessed and doomed to live their lives normally without a clue about the existence of witches.  
Frankly, she felt somewhat glad to have given up on them.  
They didn't owe her any help or thanks and she didn't owe them any, it balanced out.

The magic she had gotten and the fact she didn't need to fear witches were about the only real benefits she had gotten out of the whole magical girl deal anyway.  
It was something hers and hers alone. Mami though would surely insist on using it to do 'good'.  
She was going to have to give her a pass on that one.  
Sure, she had found back a little bit of hope within herself but the her from back then was long gone.

Kyoko sat in thought untill lunch time started.  
As the students started leaving their classes, she perked herself up.  
Amongs the crowds of students she kept her eyes out for three different signatures.  
One was Mami's, that was going to be the easiest one.  
The other two, Pink and Braids, she had only seen once.  
Still, she felt fairly certain she would be able to recognize them.

As time passed she eventually did manage to spot Mami and aswell as the pink haired girl on the school grounds.  
So pink hair was confirmed to exist, then... all of those memories, the time travel, all of it was true.  
Interestingly enough Mami and Pink didn't even approach each other at all.  
Weren't they supposed to be getting along great? Was that was only outside of school?

Kyoko tried to think back to when she had first heared about the girl.  
It was about two weeks before the walpurgisnacht showed up from what she could recall.  
Then again, Kyubey was late in telling her about the girl, so they must have had met a little before that.  
She was going to have to observe them some more to figure out the truth.

As she looked on it really seemed like neither Pink or Mami were even going to come near each other.  
Were they really intentionally staying away from each other while at school or did they actually not know each other yet?  
If Homura was there, she would ask her but she remained nowhere to be seen.  
They did all go the same school, right?  
She was quite confident each of them had worn a similar uniform.

Also if Pink hadn't met with Mami yet that gave her a chance to meet with her before Mami would.  
Mami was bound to notice the other magical girl quite soon though.  
This girl was only a novice at this point, so she wouldn't even know how to hide her signature.

It was then that something struck Kyoko.  
Was there perhaps a chance even that the girl wasn't a magical girl yet?  
After all, if she was right that it wouldn't take long for Mami to notice the other magical girl and if they really didn't know each other yet.  
Then... then it was likely she either only became one real recently or she wasn't one yet.  
So there was an actual chance that she wasn't even a magical girl yet.

That was definitely worth investigating.  
Kyoko felt a little happy at that, she did mean to repay her debt to the black haired girl and if she could talk some much needed sense into this girl,  
that would hitting be two birds with one stone.  
That was only if the girl wasn't a magical girl yet though.

When Kyoko checked on Mami again, she noticed the blonde was having a conversation with some other girls of her school.  
Right, Mami did have some friends at school.  
She had almost forgot since Mami wasn't particulary close with any of them.  
None of those girls knew Mami's secret or even knew her past the surface.  
No one but her did...  
Until that pink haired replacement unit came along, that was.  
Mami, you idiot.

Perhaps she couldn't blame her though.  
She had been the one to leave Mami behind.  
It annoyed her though that Mami was likely feeding this girl all the same bullshit about magical girls and what they should be like.  
She was going to have to do something about that.  
In anycase, she had a lot of time to think about what to do.

As she got back to the spot she was sitting at before, Kyoko grabbed something to snack and a small notebook out of her bag.  
She swiftly popped open a wrapper of sour candies that she had with her and popped one into her mouth.  
Something about snacking and eating made her feel a little calmer.

She then stared at the notebook for a little while.  
After opening it up and flipping trough, she stopped at a certain page.  
On it there were scrawled some comments and thoughts on Mami, finished with a drawing of a stupid looking Mami.  
After looking it over, Kyoko decided to rip it out and crumble it up.  
She then put away the crumbled paper in her pocket and flipped ahead till she hit a new and unwritten page on which she jotted down some new thoughts and plans.

Once she had finished doing so she put her things away again and walked to the edge of the roof and look downwards.  
With her magic it wasn't a problem to jump down from greath height.  
However still not wanting Mami to notice her presence, she turned around and took a slower, more stealthy route back down.

Kyoko had plenty of the time to pass before the girls would be out of classes again, so she decided to tour the city a bit.  
Many of it she had seen before, though here and there she found small changes like a new shop or construction site.  
Compared to that it felt like her life had changed a whole lot more during what had felt like the longest year of her life.  
Then there were the places she and Mami had hung out at, the spots they had trained at and ofcourse the various place that they had hunted witches and their familiars.

What a different time it was back then, however there was no going back to it. Damn it. Thought of her family went trough her mind.  
She had let herself get a little hopeful and now she had let her guard down. She had to be happy Mami was even alive.  
Why did she want more?

Greedy thoughts like that were usually only good for more misery in the end.  
She was never going to see her family again, they were gone, she had accepted that.  
She thought she had dealt with that, and yet a tear streaked down her face.  
She quickly whisked it away.

There was no sense in crying about it.  
The regret and the guilt, she had to push them away again and keep going.  
Afterall, she had no room to take steps back.

After a few hours Kyoko returned to observe the school grounds once more and, after a hour of waiting there, she spotted the pink haired girl leaving the school grounds together with two other girls.  
Now she looked at her some more, it struck her that Pinky was actually short.

Both girls with her were easily half a head taller than her.  
One of them, a blue haired chick was talking to the other two animatedly.  
They seemed like quite the happy bunch of friends, chatting away happily with smiles on their faces.

Friends huh?  
Before she had convinced herself that she had no need of those or anyone for that matter, but perhaps she had been wrong.  
Though she had kept it at bay, the loneliness, losing Mami, having no one that cared and no one else to care for, it had gotten to her.  
It's how she ended up here.  
Ever since she had lost her family and fell out with Mami she had been a lone wolf.

She had thought herself strong and that wasn't wrong but... what was it? A pack of wolves was much stronger together, something like that.  
Looking back at the group of three, they all looked comfortable around each other.  
A small part of her envied them.  
Maybe she could do it. Make a friend, perhaps even with that girl, and Mami? The black haired girl? All of them? She might as well try.

Not that she could see Mami and her going back to the way they were, it would surely be different but maybe still possible.  
It was probably better to focus on Black and Pink first though.  
Speaking of which, Pink was still walking with both of her friends.

She had hoped that they would split up soon but nope it seemed they were staying together for quite a bit, they even stopped at a little bakery together.  
Which reminded her, she still had some food on her, gotten at a different bakery.  
She quickly unravelled the bag it was in and took out a breadstick, then broke a part of it and started eating.  
Mhhm, it was good for what it was.

Kyoko had always enjoyed quiet moments where she could simply eat and think.  
And some thinking she had to do.  
Things would be fine if the trio split off after this or soon after but what if they walked Pink all the way home?

She didn't know if they lived near each other or if they would bother with such things, infact she didn't know much about them at all.  
She just had to hope she would get a chance for one on one conversation with Pink.  
Luckily this chance did come to her, a half hour after the trio had left he bakery.  
Green leaving long before Blue finally did so.

As for her approach, Kyoko had been thinking on it for a while and figured she would see how the girl reacts upon seeing her soulgem.  
The girl hadn't looked malicious at all, so it was probably a safe play to make.  
She would still remain on her guard though as it was  
something she couldn't afford to lose.

Stealthily Kyoko made her way down to street level and then started walking towards where she predicted the girl would be.  
Luckily the girl had kept walking the way she had been going and Kyoko soon caught up to her.

"Hey you, shorty with the pink hair." She called out to her.

The girl hesitated a second or two, taking a few steps forward first, before turning to look at her.

"You are from Mitakihara middle school right?" Now to see if her lie would work.  
"I... I am soon going to transfer over and wondered how things are there?"  
Seeing the girl looking at her with some doubt she continued. "Ah. Sorry for asking you suddenly

The girl looked her over as if to determine if she was suspicious or not and then finally nodded at her and answered with a small voice.  
"I, ah that is okay. I think it's quite fun at school. It's really modern too. And uhm... it's quite big, there a lot of students... so uhm... you can probably find friends there."The girl seemed nervous as she spoke. "Anyway, I should be getting home, so I will be going." She then added. "Maybe I will see you at school some time then."

With that the girl turned around and stared walking off. "Hey wait, don't go yet."  
This was the moment where she would find out if the girl was really a magical yet.

"What is it?" The girl asked back as she turned to her once again.

"Well, take a look at this. No touching though, it's of high value to me. " Kyoko said as she took her soulgem in her hand and then stretched her arm forward.  
She then slowly opened her hand and unveiled the soulgem and as she did, she carefully studied the girl for her reaction.  
The girl looked a mixture of being both puzzled and amazed as she looked at the gem.  
Kyoko felt just a bit of relief at that.

Good, she wasn't a magical girl yet, probably.  
Now she just had to throw off the real reason she showed her the gem.  
"It's a rare item. Have you ever seen one like it before?"

At that the girl looked back to her and answered with an innocent face. "No, I don't think so. It is pretty though."  
She carried a friendly smile on her face and seemed genuine in her response.  
Kyoko again felt a little better about protecting this girl.

"It is, ain't it?" Kyoko asked her, bragging a little. "See, I like collecting trinkets like this one. Though most of them aren't quite so valuable," Kyoko finished with a laugh.  
"Would you actually know of any shop nearby where they would sell the like?"

"Uhm, I don't think so. Sorry," The pink haired girl answered her back. The girl seemed a little more relaxed now.

"I see. By the way, the name's Kyoko. Would ya mind if I asked you to hang out sometime?  
I would like a bit a of jumpstart for when I transfer over. If that's alright?"

The other girl seemed to be thinking on her answer for a few seconds before answering with a smile,  
"Uhm, I guess that would be fine. I could have you meet my friends. I do have to ask them too, of course. Ah, and Madoka is my name."

Kyoko wasn't sure about wanting to meet her friends too but she would do what's needed.  
"Great, then how about we meet up and talk about it after ya done with school tomorrow? I have the day off, so any time is fine."

The girl thought a little to herself again and then answered,  
"Ah, uhm. I guess that works. Let's see, Thursday I should be out at 14:50, though it will be a little longer before I am out the school grounds."

"Alright. I'll be there and thanks."

"Ah, no problem. Uhm, I should get going now though. Bye Kyoko,"

"Cya shorty, was nice talkin with ya,"

This time, Madoka had given her a small smile before turning around and walking off.  
So far her plan seemed a succes.  
If she could befriend the girl and keep an eye on her then she might just be able to prevent her from becoming a magical girl.


End file.
